Philip Taylor Kramer
Philip Taylor Kramer (July 12, 1952 - February 12, 1995) was a bass guitar player for the rock group Iron Butterfly during the 1970s. After this he obtained a night school degree in aerospace engineering, worked on the MX missile guidance system for a contractor of the US Department of Defense and later in the computer industry on fractal compression, facial recognition systems, and advanced communications. His disappearance on February 12, 1995 caused a mystery lasting four years.
Total Multimedia Inc.
In 1990 at the age of 38, Kramer co-founded Total Multimedia Inc. with Randy Jackson (brother of Michael Jackson) to develop data compression techniques for CD-ROMs.[1][2][3] The firm claims it developed the first video compression capable of producing full motion video from a single speed CD-ROM in 1992. In 1994 the company was reorganized under bankruptcy and hired new leadership. Kramer continued working there until his death.[3][4] Kramer co-developed SoftVideo based on fractal compression and he also claimed to work on a transmission project that would result in faster-than-light speed communications. The latter related to his father Ray's long-running family effort to discredit Albert Einstein's theories.[3]
Death
On February 12, 1995 he drove to Los Angeles International Airport to pick up an investor. He spent forty-five minutes at the airport but failed to meet the investor. Kramer did make a flurry of cell phone calls, including one to the police during which Kramer said, "I’m going to kill myself. And I want everyone to know O.J. Simpson is innocent. They did it."[3][5]
He was never heard from again. This led to a massive search, many news reports, and talk show segments including an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, America's Most Wanted, The Unexplained ("Strange Disappearances," first aired 5/7/2000) and Unsolved Mysteries some years later.[1] An article in Skeptic reported numerous conspiracy theories about his death.[6]
On May 29, 1999, Kramer's Ford Aerostar minivan and skeletal remains were found[7][8] by photographers looking for old car wrecks to shoot at the bottom of Decker Canyon near Malibu, California.[3] Based on forensic evidence and Kramer's emergency call to the police, authorities ruled his death as a probable suicide committed on the day on which he was last heard.[9]
References
- ^ a b Leiby (1996)
- ^ Henry, Tamara (March 31, 1999) USA Today Internet Promise Goes Unfullfilled
- ^ a b c d e Maxim, "The Vanishing"
- ^ Total Multimedia history on corporate web site
- ^ Southwell and Twist (2007) p.56
- ^ Rice, Fredric (1996) "Iron Butterfly Member Disappears After Allegedly Working on Faster-Than-Light Communication - Is He In A Godda Da Vida?", Skeptic (U.S. magazine)
- ^ Iron Butterfly Fans Come To Terms With Apparent Discovery Of Missing Rocker's Remains
- ^ Collected News Stories about Kramer
- ^ Southwell and Twist (2007) p.57
- Maxim Online, "The Vanishing" (author unknown, October 1999 issue)
- Leiby, Richard (Oct 6, 1996) "Far out Taylor Kramer, rock musician, rocket scientist, entrepreneur, has vanished into thin air.", Washington Post. also archived [1]
- Southwell, David and Twist, Sean (2007), Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances, ISBN 1-40421-081-4